Rural pragmatism in New Mexico politics

High Country News reports today on recently elected congressperson Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico's 2d Congressional District.  The headline is "Rep. Xochitl Torres Small offers lessons in rural politics.  The Democratic congresswoman won a conservative region by talking about concerns all Westerners share."  So what are those shared concerns?  one is a shortage of physicians in this largely rural district, which stretches from just south of Albuquerque to the Mexico border. 

Here's how Nick Bowlin, who interviewed the Congresswoman summarized her short voting record

On several issues, [Torres Small has] charted a middle course, breaking with her party to oppose gun purchase background checks, while voting to protect health care for people with pre-existing conditions and restore the Paris climate accord.

Here's a quote from Torres Small:

In the West, I think there’s a specific opportunity when it comes to serving people in rural areas. The district I represent has an independent streak a mile wide. What (voters) are most interested in is seeing folks who are willing to put in the work, and most importantly, put in the work with anyone else who is willing to. And I think that’s something that hasn’t happened on either side in Washington for quite some time. So I think that’s the main lesson: Democrat or Republican, we serve rural communities best when we work with anyone who will lend a hand.

On the health care issue in particular, Torres Small states:

When we talk about health care, we have to talk about making sure that it’s affordable, but you should also be able to get to a doctor close to home. And that accessibility factor is huge for rural areas. It's probably the issue that resonated most in my campaign. 

Sometimes the way to make change is making improvements where you can, and one of those is increasing physician residency programs (which place doctors at hospitals around the country for training). It's arbitrarily capped right now, and a bill I introduced would increase the program by 3,000 doctors a year for five years.identifies priority areas where there are shortages, including rural areas.

Read the entire interview here.